Greek Super League football suspended after armed club owner enters field

Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-12 21:18:40|Editor: Mengjiao Liu

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Greek Deputy Sports Minister Yorgos Vassiliades speaks to the media in Athens March 12, 2018. Vassiliades announced that the Greek Super League has been suspended indefinitely after a football club owner entered the field with arms during a match Sunday evening in Thessaloniki City of north Greece. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Greek Super League football has been suspended indefinitely, Deputy Sports Minister Yorgos Vassiliades announced Monday after a meeting with the country's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, AMNA national news agency reported.

The decision was made after a club owner entered the field armed with a weapon during a match on Sunday evening.

The game between PAOK and AEK in the city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece was suspended after PAOK president Ivan Savvides stormed onto the pitch surrounded by body guards, and carrying what appeared to be a fire arm in a holder, over a disputed goal.

Greek police announced on Monday that they were seeking Savvides to arrest him.

The incident has caused a stir in Greece and is being discussed with Union of Euoprean Football Associations (UEFA), Vassiliades said.

"We are talking with UEFA. They are all shocked, as we are... The government has been trying to clean up the sport over the past three years. We have achieved much, but much remains to be done," the Greek official said.

The Super League will not resume until there is a new and clear framework of rules and conditions that have been agreed on by everyone, he added.

It is not the first time that Greece's Super League has been marred by violence.

Three years ago, there was a discussion tabled to ban Greek teams from playing in European tournaments.

At the time, the government had suspended matches three times after the death of a fan, and many injuries of players, referees and spectators during games.

In the spring of 2015, Greek Parliament ratified a bill aimed to tackle violence at stadiums, but incidents during this year's season indicate that more work needs to be done.